u.s. senate. >> that's right. going into the senate elections there is far more democratic up for re-election in 2014 than republicans. they look nervous about what the senate outcome is going to be. obviously, they have a majority, next month we'll see 55 senates be added. it will be 55 for the democratic caucus. they don't want to loss that majority. i think we'll see a lot of money go there. obviously, democrats would like to gain the house joirt. it looks like it will be a climb but i think we'll see a lot of money go towards the races. >> there is not a lot of competition for the money because they are not bound by the same campaign rules. they can take corporate cash, they can take six figure checks. there is a little bit oaf easing of pressure on the governors. i think you're going to see some

of these super pacs that played in the previous races and now in the federal races turn their attention to the key states. >> this is where the democrats have their opportunities in 2014. >> what did you learn today? >> i learned that jerry brown is going to run for re-election. he's one of the three governors that served as the youngest governor of their state and the oldest governor of their state. if he's in office in 2014 maybe we'll see a clinton/brown rematch. >> what did you learn today? >> that the democrats are not so optimistic about new jersey. they are optimistic about virginia it seems. but sandy seemed to be a good thing for chris christie. >> and also politics in virginia leading up to the attorney general who the governor may run as an independent. >> the attorney general who traditionally waits his turn, moves up to luents governor and

then moves up to governor, a guy who is a big dialing of the conservative fan base and the republican party in virginia. the luents governor is set up to run for governor four years ago then had to wait another attorney general. he is not happy about this. he is -- according to "the washington examiner" he is thinking about running as an independent. the committee chairman, the clirn fundraiser would be the governor of virginia. if you would have told me that five years ago i would have called you nuts. >> one state we did not walk about today is wisconsin. it should be interesting because scott walker coming out of the successful recall is running for re-election. he's being talked about as a high presidential hopeful in

2016. president obama had a sizeable victory in wisconsin just last month. i spts the democrats would want to beat him and get him out of the mix but did hear about that this morning. >> to be continued. thank you both for being with us. >> thank you. >> now former vice president candidate paul ryan.

congressman ryan received the 2011 jack kemp leadership award and this evening they honor marco rubio. this is under a half hour. >> good evening. i have the distinct pleasure of introducing our keynote speaker. i am the president of the center for enterprise. and a jack kemp groupie. jack kemp worked with me for five years to help residents in public housing. there was a conference. bill observed, when liberals see

poor people, they see a sea of victims. conservatives see poor people and see a sea of aliens. jack kemp and paul ryan are the exceptions. toward the end of the campaign, paul's staff called me and said, paul really wants to talk out on an anti-poverty agenda. could you organize an event in ohio that would bring the leaders from around the state who have experience transforming not only lives but also revitalizing neighborhoods. i identified 20 people and sent him to hit -- send them to his staff.

they had to be vetted and secret service looked over the list of names. i got this call from paul's staff that says, three other people -- three people out of the can you send me had criminal records. i said, i am shocked. i thought all of them had criminal records. i said, do not worry. they have been redeemed and baptized. everything will be just fine. i said, trust me on this one. one of them at the round table, they came there are with tattoos on with his wife of 30 years on his harley, he was one of our stars. he said to me, do you think it is ok if we just prayed and laid hands on paul? i said, i am not sure that works with catholics.

give it a shot. after an hour of really intense presentations by these grass-roots leaders and paul sitting there with 1000 people waiting, and he took the entire hour to listen to the testimony is coming from people and sure enough, my friend, paul, got up, came around, and he said to paul ryan, is it ok i put my hands on you and pray for you? he said, i am catholic. i am cool with that. they prayed for him. what happened, on a more serious note, i believe character is revealed not so much on a

person's resonate, but sometimes by the small, spontaneous acts of grace. when we sent paul the list of 10 people he identified, four he wanted to highlight in his speech, he got on the telephone and called each one and talked with them for 10 or 15 minutes to get to know them personally. then, he gave us the full hour. afterwards, the campaign was over. he wrote a personal note to each of the 10 people within four days of the campaign, with in all of the confusion, he took the time to do that. observed the political culture in washington. some men seek power and influence in order to be somebody. real men seek power and influence in order to do something for somebody.

i am blessed to welcome him to address this. >> wow. man. thank you, bob. i met him when i was 23 years old in wisconsin. i was introduced to him by my mentor, jack kemp.

jimmy, your family, and you for caring on the torch. quick you close your eyes, you think you are listening to -- if you close your eyes, you think you are listening to jack kemp. it is something that is really a great honor to do this, to be here. back in this room like last year, and i want to say congratulations to marco rubio on receiving this well deserved honor. now, as you may know, marco is joining an elite group of past recipients for this award. two of us so far. i will see you at the reunion dinner.

[applause] i am sure the press will not read too much into that one. i want to thank you all for your kind hospitality. i want to thank you, jimmy, for holding this event. wherever i went, people would say, i work for jack kemp. that legacy lives on some much because of the connection to the family. there was something this legacy has such reach. it is an honor to be a part of this. jack kemp was my mentor. knowing jack kemp was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

i was lucky to work with him. i do not know if bill is here. he has to wake up really early in the morning to do his radio show. he and i served in the house of representatives. we had our tough hits. we share something in common. we both used to be the next vice president of the united states. though i wish this election turned out a little differently, i am proud of a campaign has mitt romney and i ran.

he would have been a great president. it would have been an honor to serve at his side. we gave this race our all. i am grateful for the nomination. i have to say, it is thrilling when your team trusts you with a ball. it is humbling when you advance the ball as far as you can only to come up a little short. the redskins did not find that out on sunday. the giants did. it is one of those humbling experiences that is a great lesson. losing is part of politics. it can often prepare the way for greater victories. jack kemp could be counted upon to " charge chill. failure is not fatal. it is the courage to continue that counts. this work goes on.

the jack kemp legacy continues on. we need to continue on fighting for the american idea, the believe everyone should have the opportunity to rise, to escape from poverty and achieve whatever your god-given talents enable you to achieve. for too many americans, it is not a promise being kept. our poverty rates are at the highest in a generation. of the millions of children born into hardship, fewer are able to escape it. some never learn to dream at all, which is a worse tragedy. when 40% of all children born into the lowest income quintile never learn -- never rise above it, what does that say about our country?

to me, it says our economy is failing to provide the basic security, much less rising wages. our schools are failing to provide a path out of poverty our families and communities are breaking out of poverty. our families and communities are breaking down. our homes and neighborhoods. at a time of great consequence, the american people have chosen a divided government. it is up to us to make this divided government work. we have to set aside partisan concerns. how to work together to prepare this economy to get people back on their feet? how do we get this sense of real security and upper mobility for all americans, especially those

in need? they are the same. the old ways will not do. we need new thinking and renewed efforts from all americans. it is true that president obama won reelection. i congratulate him on his victory. on january 20, he will face a stagnant economy and a fiscal mess. you might say he will inherit these problems. bft -- [laughter] in his second term, i hope he will offer fresh ideas. failure will mean four more years. we have work to do.

i'm proud of our ecampaign. i'm proud of mitt romney. serious solutions for serious reforms, we thank him for doing that. the election did not go our way. the republican party cannot make excuses. we cannot have the next four years on the sidelines. we need to apply our timeless principles to the challenges of the day. our party excels at representing that part of the american idea that speaks to the aspirations of our nation's risk-takers. we celebrate that part involves finding a passion and making a living from it. there is another part of the american creed. when our neighbors are struggling, we look out for one

another. we take care of those who are suffering in the midst of our families come alive, and communities. we do that best to our families, communities, and our party must and for making them stronger. we have a compassionate vision based on ideas that work. sometimes, we do not do a good job of laying out that vision. we need to do a better job on that. the kemp foundation will help lead the way. you are keeping jack kemp's spirit alive. leaders have set their hearts and minds on opportunity for all americans. it is a brighter day that lays ahead for us. [applause] jack hated the idea that any part of america could be written off.

in the 1970's, when people spoke of scarcity, jack was talking about an american renaissance. not everyone listens. ronald reagan sure did. you saw jack's ideas at work in the economic expansion of the 1980's and 1990's. nothing could be more foreign to jack's way of thinking than to accept poverty as a permanent way of life. he did not believe we all belong to some class or station in life. he went into a lot of troubled neighborhoods. never once did he look around and despair. others might think it is never going to get better than that. not jack kemp.

he did not buy into that attitude, and neither do we or most americans. america is exceptional for this very reason. both parties tend to divide americans into our voters and their voters. let's be really clear. republicans must steer far clear of that trap. [applause] we need to speak to the aspirations and a zaydis of every american -- and anxieties of every american. so no one is left out from the promise of america. it will require a bold departure from the approach government has taken over the last five decades. with a few exceptions. government's approach has been to expand bureaucracy and spend a lot of money on bloated, anti-poverty programs. the mindset at work here is that

a nation should measure compassion by how much it spends. by the sheer size of its government. the problem is, starting in the 1960's, this approach has created a debilitating culture of dependency. it tore communities apart. this was so obvious to everyone that when we reform welfare in the 1990's, a law was passed by a republican congress and signed by a democratic president. what happened? welfare enrollment dropped dramatically. millions of people gained new lives of independence. poverty rates for children fell over 20% in four years. more single moms found jobs. your welfare checks going out and more money for states to spend on child care so more moms could go to work and support themselves. welfare reform worked because it

encouraged the best in people. it appealed to their desire to shape their own destiny. it helped get government out of the business of fostering dependency. here is the problem. we have not applied a welfare reform mindset with equal vigor across programs. in most cases, we are still trying to measure compassion by how much spend cannot how many we help. last year, spending on programs came over $1 trillion. what does that mean in practical terms? for that amount of money, you could give every single poor american a check for $22,000. instead, we just spent all of that money trying to fight poverty from government programs. now, what do we have to show for it? 46 million people today are living in poverty.

during the last four years, the number of people on food stamps has gone up by 15 million. medicaid is reaching a breaking point. one out of every four students fails to get a diploma. half of our kids do not graduate. when lyndon johnson launched the war on poverty, he predicted it would eliminate poverty and 35 to 50 years. here we are 48 years later and poverty is winning. we deserve better. we need a vision for bringing opportunity into every life. one that promotes strong families, secure livelihood's, and an equal chance for every american to fulfill their highest aspirations for themselves and families. this seeks to build upon those

reforms that have worked. it calls on government to encourage and not displace the efforts of free people to help one another. it calls for a stronger safety net, one that protect the most vulnerable and promotes self reliance. it calls for the end of the chronic inequalities in our education system. it promotes economic growth from free enterprise because nothing has done more to lift people everywhere out of poverty. of all people i have ever known, jack kemp did more to personify and personalize this message. every problem does not to support -- disappear from the workings of the free market alone. i would love to say if we just went on the gold standard, it would all be settled. americans are compassionate americans are compassionate people.